America Owns America Wins (2012)

Cause Static Productions

America Owns America Wins by rock group Long Day Sin is one of the most exciting rock 'n' roll albums in a long time. Throbbing percussion and bass supporting a wallpaper of noise devices and guitars remind us how delicate the balance is between chaos and order.

The music is intense. There's no slick guitar playing or smooth studio work. It's just raw energy and conviction at odds with structure and process. Long Day Sin takes its rock 'n' roll personally. Delivered with full-force passion and anger, each song (many of them explicit) hammers home that every individual has something worthwhile about them that they will only invest in a system that invests in them. By raising social and political awareness, Long Day Sin hopes we can learn more about what's going on in our society and what we can do to improve it.

The explicit lyrics in the track, "Middle Class," for example, describe the American dream as worthless dirt and a rejected orphan held prisoner by recession, depression and a system with no solution. This system and its spineless leaders are then challenged by a "Rebellious Youth" who'll fight for change with their heads and not their fists. And just when optimism shows its face in "White Pride," "American Made" openly declares capitalism to be the whore hiding behind Old Glory.

The message is clear and multi-dimensional, making America Owns America Wins an album you'll want to listen to over time. One surprising element of the album is the rendition of Motown's "Money That's What I Want." Long Day Sin's version of the song attacks the senses with an original, antagonistic force that shakes you.

America Owns America Wins strolls into American culture and then proceeds to kick the hell out of it, challenging our perception of society. And under this societal beat down is an almost romantic, poetic plea for humanity.